Most Difficult Novels

Novels that made you work the hardest. Let's assume that you actually finished the book and felt that it was worth the effort.

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All Votes Add Books To This List

1	Ulysses by James Joyce 3.74 avg rating — 119,626 ratings score: 43,169, and 435 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
2	Finnegans Wake by James Joyce 3.67 avg rating — 12,218 ratings score: 29,367, and 296 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
3	The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner 3.86 avg rating — 170,296 ratings score: 25,083, and 255 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
4	Moby-Dick or, the Whale by Herman Melville 3.53 avg rating — 519,261 ratings score: 23,685, and 241 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
5	Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon 3.98 avg rating — 41,539 ratings score: 20,613, and 211 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
6	War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy 4.14 avg rating — 298,586 ratings score: 18,390, and 188 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
7	Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky 4.25 avg rating — 761,625 ratings score: 17,553, and 181 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
8	One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez 4.10 avg rating — 867,352 ratings score: 17,300, and 176 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
9	Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace 4.26 avg rating — 83,785 ratings score: 17,219, and 176 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
10	Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad 3.43 avg rating — 470,995 ratings score: 16,619, and 170 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
11	Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs 3.45 avg rating — 86,849 ratings score: 12,455, and 129 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
12	Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy 4.07 avg rating — 763,214 ratings score: 12,389, and 128 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
13	The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky 4.34 avg rating — 283,620 ratings score: 11,695, and 123 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
14	Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov 3.88 avg rating — 755,888 ratings score: 11,097, and 115 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
15	Les Misérables by Victor Hugo 4.19 avg rating — 745,608 ratings score: 10,184, and 106 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
16	House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski (Goodreads Author) 4.07 avg rating — 151,362 ratings score: 9,598, and 98 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
17	The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco 4.13 avg rating — 335,874 ratings score: 9,445, and 98 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
18	In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust 4.35 avg rating — 11,232 ratings score: 9,418, and 98 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
19	Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand 3.69 avg rating — 374,279 ratings score: 8,721, and 90 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
20	Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf 3.79 avg rating — 262,966 ratings score: 8,552, and 90 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
21	Catch-22 by Joseph Heller 3.98 avg rating — 784,592 ratings score: 8,505, and 90 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
22	A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce 3.63 avg rating — 140,074 ratings score: 8,489, and 91 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
23	Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner 3.97 avg rating — 41,676 ratings score: 8,192, and 86 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
24	Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco 3.91 avg rating — 65,477 ratings score: 7,950, and 83 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
25	A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens 3.86 avg rating — 885,395 ratings score: 7,772, and 81 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
26	A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 662,552 ratings score: 7,691, and 81 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
27	To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf 3.79 avg rating — 157,806 ratings score: 7,264, and 78 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
28	Great Expectations by Charles Dickens 3.79 avg rating — 733,767 ratings score: 6,890, and 73 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
29	Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra 3.89 avg rating — 242,243 ratings score: 6,769, and 73 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
30	Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West by Cormac McCarthy 4.16 avg rating — 127,501 ratings score: 6,662, and 71 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
31	The Stranger by Albert Camus really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 877,946 ratings score: 6,580, and 70 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
32	The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne 3.43 avg rating — 792,112 ratings score: 6,370, and 68 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
33	Beloved by Toni Morrison 3.92 avg rating — 382,555 ratings score: 6,352, and 68 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
34	Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë 3.88 avg rating — 1,588,102 ratings score: 6,227, and 68 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
35	The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky 4.20 avg rating — 156,957 ratings score: 5,606, and 60 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
36	The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie 3.71 avg rating — 59,214 ratings score: 5,103, and 54 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
37	The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas 4.28 avg rating — 835,083 ratings score: 5,068, and 55 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
38	The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera 4.11 avg rating — 402,740 ratings score: 5,002, and 54 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
39	The Trial by Franz Kafka 3.96 avg rating — 275,262 ratings score: 4,884, and 54 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
40	The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon 3.69 avg rating — 79,864 ratings score: 4,828, and 54 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
41	Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë 4.14 avg rating — 1,878,439 ratings score: 4,195, and 47 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
42	Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov 4.15 avg rating — 46,430 ratings score: 4,065, and 46 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
43	2666 by Roberto Bolaño 4.18 avg rating — 37,699 ratings score: 4,047, and 44 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
44	Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre 3.93 avg rating — 101,768 ratings score: 3,909, and 42 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
45	The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien 3.97 avg rating — 250,248 ratings score: 3,798, and 41 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
46	Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie 3.98 avg rating — 113,754 ratings score: 3,764, and 42 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
47	Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez 3.93 avg rating — 463,484 ratings score: 3,752, and 42 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
48	Notes from Underground, White Nights, The Dream of a Ridiculous Man, and Selections from The House of the Dead by Fyodor Dostoevsky 4.18 avg rating — 75,513 ratings score: 3,557, and 41 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
49	Middlemarch by George Eliot really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 149,280 ratings score: 3,489, and 40 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
50	V. by Thomas Pynchon 3.95 avg rating — 21,996 ratings score: 3,424, and 40 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
51	Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy 3.82 avg rating — 262,784 ratings score: 3,316, and 38 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
52	Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley 3.84 avg rating — 1,370,241 ratings score: 3,210, and 37 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
53	Bleak House by Charles Dickens 4.01 avg rating — 104,242 ratings score: 3,083, and 35 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
54	The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath 4.04 avg rating — 748,860 ratings score: 3,048, and 34 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
55	The Man Without Qualities by Robert Musil 4.20 avg rating — 6,203 ratings score: 3,042, and 33 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
56	As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner 3.72 avg rating — 151,792 ratings score: 3,006, and 35 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
57	Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison 3.90 avg rating — 173,395 ratings score: 3,005, and 35 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
58	Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany 3.77 avg rating — 10,630 ratings score: 2,966, and 32 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
59	Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse 4.13 avg rating — 160,858 ratings score: 2,950, and 35 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
60	The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann 4.11 avg rating — 43,859 ratings score: 2,942, and 33 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
61	Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 235,876 ratings score: 2,904, and 33 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
62	My Name Is Red by Orhan Pamuk 3.86 avg rating — 51,762 ratings score: 2,901, and 31 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
63	The Waves by Virginia Woolf 4.15 avg rating — 35,084 ratings score: 2,825, and 31 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
64	The Recognitions by William Gaddis 4.20 avg rating — 5,197 ratings score: 2,759, and 32 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
65	The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway 3.81 avg rating — 402,295 ratings score: 2,505, and 31 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
66	The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand 3.88 avg rating — 311,413 ratings score: 2,448, and 28 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
67	Mason & Dixon by Thomas Pynchon 4.10 avg rating — 10,328 ratings score: 2,393, and 28 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
68	Dracula by Bram Stoker 4.01 avg rating — 1,102,373 ratings score: 2,391, and 27 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
69	The Glass Bead Game by Hermann Hesse 4.11 avg rating — 35,330 ratings score: 2,377, and 26 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
70	Against the Day by Thomas Pynchon 3.97 avg rating — 9,715 ratings score: 2,375, and 27 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
71	Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell 4.30 avg rating — 1,155,854 ratings score: 2,249, and 25 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
72	Ada, or Ardor: A Family Chronicle by Vladimir Nabokov 4.14 avg rating — 10,603 ratings score: 2,230, and 25 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
73	Molloy by Samuel Beckett 4.05 avg rating — 7,547 ratings score: 2,107, and 24 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
74	Tropic of Cancer (Tropic, #1) by Henry Miller 3.68 avg rating — 68,166 ratings score: 2,032, and 24 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
75	American Gods (American Gods, #1) by Neil Gaiman (Goodreads Author) 4.11 avg rating — 850,435 ratings score: 2,021, and 23 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
76	The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium, #1) by Stieg Larsson 4.16 avg rating — 2,936,083 ratings score: 2,008, and 23 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
77	The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing 3.76 avg rating — 21,335 ratings score: 1,969, and 23 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
78	Nostromo by Joseph Conrad 3.82 avg rating — 16,185 ratings score: 1,965, and 24 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
79	Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens 3.88 avg rating — 357,279 ratings score: 1,928, and 24 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
80	Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak 4.01 avg rating — 91,309 ratings score: 1,924, and 23 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
81	Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke 3.84 avg rating — 221,583 ratings score: 1,851, and 20 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
82	Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray 3.79 avg rating — 123,907 ratings score: 1,836, and 22 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
83	The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, #1) by J.R.R. Tolkien 4.38 avg rating — 2,596,658 ratings score: 1,786, and 21 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
84	Trainspotting (Mark Renton #2) by Irvine Welsh 4.08 avg rating — 160,474 ratings score: 1,770, and 19 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
85	Animal Farm by George Orwell 3.97 avg rating — 3,336,544 ratings score: 1,750, and 23 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
86	The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea 4.01 avg rating — 15,017 ratings score: 1,742, and 19 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
87	The Awakening by Kate Chopin 3.67 avg rating — 188,706 ratings score: 1,736, and 21 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
88	JR by William Gaddis 4.30 avg rating — 3,084 ratings score: 1,678, and 20 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
89	The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami 4.15 avg rating — 251,938 ratings score: 1,552, and 19 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
90	Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry 3.78 avg rating — 23,395 ratings score: 1,430, and 18 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
91	The Magus by John Fowles 4.05 avg rating — 54,080 ratings score: 1,428, and 19 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
92	The Red and the Black by Stendhal 3.87 avg rating — 66,684 ratings score: 1,393, and 18 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
93	The Unnamable by Samuel Beckett really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 2,529 ratings score: 1,391, and 16 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
94	The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov 4.29 avg rating — 295,372 ratings score: 1,379, and 17 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
95	The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot 3.81 avg rating — 51,772 ratings score: 1,369, and 18 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
96	Neverwhere (London Below, #1) by Neil Gaiman (Goodreads Author) 4.17 avg rating — 482,012 ratings score: 1,267, and 15 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
97	Women in Love by D.H. Lawrence 3.66 avg rating — 30,893 ratings score: 1,245, and 16 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
98	The Ambassadors by Henry James 3.64 avg rating — 11,974 ratings score: 1,231, and 14 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
99	Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad 3.62 avg rating — 29,250 ratings score: 1,212, and 16 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
100	The Halo Grower - An Illustrated Novel by Ryushiro Hindemith (Goodreads Author) 4.38 avg rating — 16 ratings score: 1,200, and 12 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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556 books · 1,979 voters · list created September 19th, 2008 by BoBandy (votes) .

Tags: literary-fiction

495 likes · Like

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Comments Showing 1-50 of 117 (117 new)

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message 1: by Tom (new)

Aug 12, 2009 01:01PM

Beowulf, currently number 2 on this list, isn't a novel at all. And many of these books, like Anna Karenina, are not difficult, they're just long, which isn't the same thing.

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message 2: by David (last edited Aug 12, 2009 07:10PM) (new)

Aug 12, 2009 07:10PM

Ditto on the point that difficult is not the same as long. Dickens and Rand, though verbose, are rather transparent.

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message 3: by Janna (new)

Aug 17, 2009 08:35AM

Oh, I just saw in the description that these difficult books are supposed to be worth the effort. Well, that would change things.. hehe.

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message 4: by Mischelle (new)

Aug 17, 2009 09:31AM

What about The Phantom of The Opera? I just couldn't read that one. Too difficult!

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message 5: by Erica (new)

Aug 17, 2009 10:08AM

What might be difficult to one, may not be to another. What might be interesting to one, may not be to the other.

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message 6: by Jenny (new)

Aug 17, 2009 10:32AM

Unless you are severely handicapped, Neil Gaiman's novels are not difficult.

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message 7: by Tom (new)

Aug 17, 2009 10:36AM

I agree about Gaiman, and The Count of Monte Cristo is not so difficult that it needs to be listed four times.

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message 8: by Susan (new)

Aug 17, 2009 01:56PM

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message 9: by Wendy (new)

Aug 20, 2009 06:08AM

Ulysses and Sound and the Fury aren't at all difficult if you understand "stream of consciousness." This is all personal taste and reading ability....utter baloney!

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message 10: by Rachel (new)

Aug 20, 2009 07:02AM

How is it that Finnegan's Wake is so far below Ulysses? Seriously? Ulysses is WONDERFUL. (!!!!!)

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message 11: by Katherine (new)

Aug 20, 2009 09:32AM

Why are there like 8 versions of CoMC on this list? Maybe that's what's so difficult...people think it's 8 books instead of one.

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message 12: by Rachel (new)

Aug 20, 2009 09:33AM

Katherine wrote: "Why are there like 8 versions of CoMC on this list? Maybe that's what's so difficult...people think it's 8 books instead of one."

Haha, yeah it confused me as well. And we also read it in my 8th grade reading class...

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message 13: by Tom (new)

Aug 20, 2009 09:41AM

Finnegan's Wake is below Ulysses because not as many people have even tried to read it, I imagine.

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message 14: by Rachel (new)

Aug 20, 2009 10:48AM

Ah...that does make sense. When I say I've trid to read it, I mean I opened it to the first page, opened it to a random middle page and looked the last page and decided it was impossible.

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message 15: by Antoine (new)

Aug 21, 2009 08:48PM

I added the Aeneid. I have to agree with most of the assertions that the books listed (the ones I have actually read anyway) are often merely LONG rather than hard. BUt the Aeneid has so many layers, and is so artificial that it is in a different category... of course technically it is NOT a novel, so I guess I won't add Paradise Lost. But I also have to support Ulysses as "hard." Stream of consciousness IS hard. So is a multiple leveled experimental retooling of an ancient epic poem. And Finnegan's Wake is harder, but I suspect fewer people even try...

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message 16: by Antoine (new)

Aug 21, 2009 09:13PM

OK, as a Librarian, I am deleting books that really hard, but are clearly NOT novels (including my own insertion of the Aeneid). Beowulf, Kant: buh-bye.

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message 17: by Mignon Ariel (new)

Aug 28, 2009 02:15PM

If hard equals BORING, the "Unbearable" heaviness of both book and movie should shoot that snooze up to #1.

Technically, Canterbury Tales is not a novel, but so what.

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message 18: by Joyce (new)

Aug 29, 2009 03:08PM

I have not read HEART OF DARKNESS, although I do own it. Should I bother?

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message 19: by Antoine (new)

Aug 29, 2009 04:22PM

The passages I have read are brilliant, but I have never mounted a successful assault on the whole... and it is only 100pp!

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message 20: by Tom (new)

Aug 30, 2009 05:43AM

Yes, you should definitely read Heart of Darkness--very worthwhile. And as Antoine points out, it's only 100 pages.

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message 21: by Joyce (new)

Aug 31, 2009 05:55AM

Susan wrote: "

Anna Karenina was very repetitive, in my humble opinion. Nevertheless, I couldn't put it down.

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message 22: by Debra (new)

Sep 05, 2009 11:47AM

I once implied to a bright well-read friend that I didn't think Infinite Jest was something she'd get through. However, it's one of my personal favorites.

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message 23: by Antoine (new)

Sep 06, 2009 07:13AM

I loved it (though I hated some aspects of it), but I couldn't possibly describe it as "easy."

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message 24: by Janet (new)

Oct 05, 2009 07:22PM

I read Tale of Two Cities in HS English class and have re-read it since then.I would not consider it difficult but I do think its a worthwhile for anyone to read.

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message 25: by Travis (new)

Jan 12, 2010 02:57AM

Tom wrote: "Beowulf, currently number 2 on this list, isn't a novel at all. And many of these books, like Anna Karenina, are not difficult, they're just long, which isn't the same thing."

It's all rather subjective isn't it? What makes a book a hard read for someone else wouldn't be the same for you, and vice-versa.

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message 26: by Rachel (new)

Jan 19, 2010 08:12PM

If anyone likes to read into and analyze books, then Heart of Darkness is like a tiny treasure chest that can be broken into so many different schools of thought, that it's amazing. Even if one is incapable of disecting a book, or feels that it takes away from it's literary value, it is an enjoyable, though some would find difficult, read, either way, though much more enjoyable in the former case.
But, this is all opinion, so...

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message 27: by Spencer (new)

Feb 26, 2010 05:05PM

Sound and the Fury is easily the most difficult book I've ever read!

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message 28: by Jim (new)

Mar 20, 2010 01:22PM

Why do I get the feeling that, with the exception of Finnegan's Wake, most of the titles on this list say more about the readers than the difficulty of the books.

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message 29: by Antoine (new)

Mar 20, 2010 03:36PM

Hey, remember "difficult" does not mean bad. That we talk as if it does says even more about us (as people of our time) than our choice of books. In fact, to nominate a book you are supposed to have actually read it, AND felt it was "worth the effort." I, for one, doubt that all 48 people who voted for Finnegan's Wake have actually read it and liked it, but whatever. It is certainly famous for being "difficult."

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message 30: by Lisa (new)

Mar 20, 2010 03:37PM

Fiona wrote: "Joyce wrote: "I have not read HEART OF DARKNESS, although I do own it. Should I bother?"

I wouldn't bother if I was you - a turgid novel detailing a land long forgotton in a time that no one car..."
Yes, Fiona, you should bother. Then you will understand about colonialism, and why it informs so many international issues today, which clearly the viewer of Apocalypse Now has failed to do.

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message 31: by Lisa (new)

Mar 20, 2010 03:38PM

Antoine wrote: "OK, as a Librarian, I am deleting books that really hard, but are clearly NOT novels (including my own insertion of the Aeneid). Beowulf, Kant: buh-bye."

Good! Thanks...

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message 32: by Lisa (new)

Mar 20, 2010 04:35PM

I'm amazed at the inclusion of some books on this list. How could anyone literate find Dickens difficult?? I read and enjoyed his books (and I mean almost all of them) when I was about 14. Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea???? It isn't even long, and Hemingway is a master of simple short sentences!
This list makes me despair about the future of the written word if books that were read and enjoyed by *teenagers* of my generation are considered 'difficult' now.

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message 33: by Antoine (new)

Mar 21, 2010 06:35AM

Well, that begs the question, "what is difficult?" I have always found Hemingway "difficult" despite the simplicity of his diction. He isn't hard to read; he is hard (for me) to care about. As a teacher, I find my teenage students far more passionate about Jane Eyre than about Hard Times. For them, Dickens much simpler (technically) novel, was less meaningful to them, and therefore more "difficult." Whereas Bronte's much weirder novel spoke directly to them, and so the superficial "difficulty" of the text melted away.

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message 34: by Lisa (new)

Mar 22, 2010 12:51AM

I suppose I was assuming that respondents here were adults. I mean, for example, a primary school student would find Dickens difficult to read even when they could decode the words because they wouldn't have experienced reading 19th century writing styles nor have any understanding of the social issues that Dickens was writing about. But I would assume that students in secondary school would (should) have been exposed to a bit of classic literature and have some knowledge of history and the humanitarian/philanthropic issues that were a cause for concern in those days.
Of course one reason why students find Jane Eyre easier is because they can fake reading it by watching the movie LOL...

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message 35: by Antoine (last edited Mar 22, 2010 05:15AM) (new)

Mar 22, 2010 05:13AM

Well, the same could be said of a lot of Dickens, vis-a-vis film. A couple thoughts, as someone who tries engage teenagers with literature professionally (although I teach in a private school, which is known locally for attracting serious readers). Most people don't pick up and enjoy novels for the thrill of examining related historical and social issues, unless they are required to do so for school. Those things may be present, but what a reader wants above all is story. Dickens is a master, perhaps THE master of story, but the conventions of his style and time require drawing out an element of mystery for 2/3 to 3/4 of a novel. Only then do all the disparate elements of the story come together and hurtle towards their compelling conclusion. In Bleak House, to take one example, that's almost 700 pp of matter (much of it rather didactic and preachy-seeming) before you figure out what's really going on with the story. That's a lot of time to lose interest in finding out what will happen at all.

I think difficulty of engagement, difficulty giving a damn, is really the issue with a lot of these works for some readers, and reading conprehension, raw ability, has little or nothing to do with it. Take Moby Dick, a book that I am reading right now, and enjoying very much. Melville's diction isn't difficult, and he has great "issues" in hand. But a lot of readers find it difficult to sustain their interest through the whole novel. Its almost a cliche of boredom. And what is more "difficult," in the end, than sticking with something that fails to interest you?

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message 36: by Antoine (last edited Mar 22, 2010 05:31AM) (new)

Mar 22, 2010 05:27AM

I just deleted several books that, while arguably difficult, are clearly not novels (the Bible, Thucydides, Paradise Lost). I chose to leave the Canterbury Tales for some reason; not sure why.

P.S. I also deleted the 77pp retelling of the Count of Monte Cristo. I direct those who voted for it to the complete novel, also featured in this list, currently at number 33.

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message 37: by D (new)

Jun 21, 2010 08:21PM

Difficult is a very obtuse and general word. Certain books may not be so incomprehensible (Like most of later Burroughs that I've read, Nova Express, parts of Cities of the Red Night-- certainly difficult books) and still exhausting to finish despite their quality; thus my votes for The Glass Bead Game and Something Happened.

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message 38: by Kendra (new)

Jun 21, 2010 11:35PM

There is so much wrong with this list.

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message 39: by Kristina (new)

Aug 03, 2010 01:16AM

A Clockwork Orange? The Bell Jar? It took me a mere two days to read A Clockwork Orange, and I don't know if it's my knowledge of the Russian language and Burgess' application of it in the book, but I did not find this novel the least bit challenging.
While the Bell Jar was lengthier, I do not see any challenge with this book.

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message 40: by Antoine (new)

Aug 03, 2010 06:19AM

Maybe its a flawed list-one person's easy beach read is another's nightmare. But the top ten seems like a good selection of worthy and genuinely difficult books.

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message 41: by Derya (last edited Oct 23, 2010 08:27AM) (new)

Oct 23, 2010 08:27AM

Paradise Lost is not a novel, neither is The Divine Comedy. You should either change the title, or edit the entire list.

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message 42: by Lucky Teapot (last edited Oct 24, 2010 01:56PM) (new)

Oct 24, 2010 01:55PM

Uhm.. What's so difficult about Crime and Punishment , Lolita, Heart of Darkness or One hundred years of solitude? I finished the first three in a relatively short time, they read well and are quite engrossing. I admit that I'm stuck in the middle of "Solitude" but that's because I'm lazy and can't remember who's who ;). One can't even compare the difficult-ness of these with Ulysses (tried - failed).

ETA Catch 22 is a piece of cake and a very pleasant read. What's wrong with some people?

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message 43: by Lucky Teapot (new)

Oct 24, 2010 02:00PM

Joyce wrote: "I have not read HEART OF DARKNESS, although I do own it. Should I bother?"

Of course you should. It's wonderfully mind-f*cking ;).

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message 44: by J (new)

Nov 16, 2010 02:02PM

I think that it's sad that so many people are repeatedly commenting on the intelligence of others simply because they thought a book was difficult. I'm also disappointed to find that the majority of posts involve people complaining at how the list is configured and how "easy" a book is to them. This list isn't perfect but, as too many people before me have had to post, this is based on people's OPINIONS and not fact. I wish that those who post messages would refrain from making such comments, but since I'm not the "web police" I can't enforce it. Oh well.
On a more positive note, I must say that, after reading both War and Peace and Ana Karenina, I have a lot of respect for Tolstoy as a writer because for him to not only write novels as long as they are and to make them so good (in my opinion) shows what I characterize as superior writing abilities. Of course that's just me.

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message 45: by jo (new)

Dec 18, 2010 08:02PM

the description says these should be books that made you work super hard but that, at the end, you found worth the effort. i think this is entirely subjective; moreover, the fact that some books someone found extremely easy have been voted for more than once proves that there is something challenging -- and worthwhile -- about them.

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message 46: by jo (new)

Dec 18, 2010 08:05PM

Divine Comedy, Iliad, Paradise Lost, Anti-Oedipus --> not novels.

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message 47: by Chloe (new)

Dec 21, 2010 11:37AM

It's fun to see what some people call difficult. Of course, by fun I mean dishearteningly elucidating as to the current state of functional illiteracy. AKA: Little Women is a children's book.

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message 48: by jo (new)

Dec 21, 2010 12:51PM

Chloe wrote: "It's fun to see what some people call difficult. Of course, by fun I mean dishearteningly elucidating as to the current state of functional illiteracy. AKA: Little Women is a children's book."

hey chloe, did you take a look at the book the people who voted for Little Women have on their "read" list? i'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest they were joshing. in fact, if i weren't such a stickler for accuracy and earnestness i would vote for Little Women myself.

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message 49: by Chloe (new)

Dec 21, 2010 02:20PM

I suppose that could be the case. These polls have not, in the past, made me especially optimistic. And, well, 80% or more of these books are not difficult so much as long or well-constructed.

I see some people (above) dislike critical comments. And, I appreciate encouraging people who may not read very much. But, this is a place for people who love books, ostensibly. I think deteriorating standards are not a non-issue in that arena. Pretty much every poll or list here is steeped in mediocrity. It's okay to notice this. We care too much about emotions today, and it just feeds the appetitive side of human nature.

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message 50: by Vincent (new)

Jul 17, 2011 01:45PM

While a lot of these books are more "long" than "difficult," I think that some books are difficult to finish because they are long. War and Peace, for example, is very easy to understand, but it's length makes it very tedious at times (particularly the historical sections that veer away from the far more interesting fictional sections). Proust, on the other hand, is not always easy to understand, but the length of the novel and the separate volumes can make the otherwise engrossing read seem trying for even the most ardent followers. I found it impossible to read from beginning of Swann's Way to the end of Time Regained. I don't understand how any of Dostoevsky's works are perceived as difficult, though.

Ultimately, I very much agree with Joyce's high placement on the list. He earned it by being both long and difficult.

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